Description

Statistics

Playable characters (story mode)

Number of acts

6

Special Stages in Knuckles' Chaotix are a series of six special levels. To enter them, the player has to hold at least fifty Rings to summon a Giant Ring at the end of a Zone and leap into it. It should be noted that the first of the two characters the player controls that jump in to the Giant Ring becomes the playable character in the Special Stage.

Contents

Overview

Special Stages feature pseudo-3D hexagonal tubes surrounded by bottomless space, with a short-range view of the horizon. In some instances, the stages' hexagonal tubes are often fragmented. In other situations, the tubes will lead to pseudo-3D paths through broad fields, platforming sections with floating blocks, or linear pathways.

Gameplay

Inside the Special Stages, the player's goal is to collect a required number of Blue Spheres within a time limit. This time limit is marked by the player's Ring counter, which is turned into a countdown for the duration of the Special Stage that will decrease by one Ring each second. Its starting point depends on the number of Rings the player has when entering the Special Stage; if the player enters with 120 Rings, then it counts down from 120 Rings. Along the Special Stages' pathways are two checkpoints. Passing the first checkpoint with enough Blue Spheres lets the player move onto the next section, and passing the second one earns the player a Chaos Ring. Failing to collect enough Blue Spheres makes the pathway loop around until the player can collect remaining spheres.

While inside a Special Stage, the playable character is constantly running forward and can only move sideways using and perform the Spin Jump to leap. In gameplay, the hexagonal tubes and other sections also have no center of gravity: if the player climbs up a wall, the stage rotates so that the player's perspective stays on ground level.

There are numerous items and objects floating around the Special Stages. Rings can be collected to extend the player time limit, while taking damage from obstacles takes ten Rings from the counter. Many obstacles also serve to bounce the player backwards to eschew falling or block pathways. If the player falls off the stages' road or runs out of Rings, the Special Stage ends and the player returns to the Newtrogic High Zone without receiving a Chaos Ring.

Gimmicks and obstacles

Singular Blue Spheres are scattered along the paths. To pass each check point, the player must collect a certain number of Blue Spheres by running over them. If the player does not have enough Blue Spheres, the route will repeat itself until enough are gathered.

Special Stage information

Wireframe Special Stages

Collecting all Chaos Rings from each Special Stage changes the game's ending after defeating final boss. However, Special Stages are still available for play after getting all six Chaos Rings and the player can enter them in the same manner as before, although they are completely optional.

When entering the Special Stages at this point, the surfaces on the pathways have turned invisible, leaving only the wireframe edges of the surfaces visible. All objects in each Special Stage remain the same spots, but the invisible layout can prove challenging for the player. Completing the wireframe version of a Special Stage grants a perfect 50,000 point bonus to the player.